The Eighth Terminal
by Brand220
Summary: The journey of one kid named Brandon through the Halo universe along side his friend SonicJohn who is an actual person. Look him up on bungie. WARNING: This story contains language that might be offensive to some viewers. Rated M for the language.


_**The Eighth Terminal **_

**Chapter One: The Island**

"Hey, guys! I'm going to go explore my island for a while. I'll be back in time for dinner!" I yelled over my shoulder on my way down to the sandy bank. The camping trip was still in its infancy, only begun one day earlier.

The lake water was fairly warm, at a constant 75-80 degrees. The wooden raft tied down to the shore was a simple one. Five wooden poles, five feet long each, and one foot in width, tied together with rope.

Gently, I hopped on, and untied the rope from the tree, and slowly, the raft started to drift away from the shore.

"I want to explore that island that I had just placed my shovel on." I thought, as I scouted out the three islands only 50 feet out.

"The smallest island would work the best," I thought. "I wouldn't have to clear much brush out of the way to build my 'fort'. "Only a few small trees, and some tall grass…it shouldn't take me too long!"

Once the raft washed up on the rocky bank of the small island, I wrapped the rope around one of the larger rocks, and climbed up onto the island.

I noticed a small trail leading into the middle of the brush, so I decided to follow it cautiously. Upon the end of the trail, there was a small dirt patch, with one rock on top of it.

"Well, that's kind of weird…" I thought. Kicking the rock into the lake, I then proceeded to dig with the shovel I had previously placed there. After a couple minutes of digging, I heard a _clang _and felt the shovel hit metal. I bent to my knees, and started to sweep the dirt away from the metal surface.

In the middle of the metal piece was a symbol that looked like a circle with two half-circles around it.

"What in the…?" I couldn't even finish my sentence when the rectangular piece of metal sunk into the ground three inches, and then parted.

As the two metal pieces retreated into the dirt, I could see stairs jutting out and continuing to go down. Looking back over my shoulder, I took a deep breath, and started to head down the stone steps.

**Chapter Two-The Forgotten City**

As my head reached ground level, the two metal pieces shut again, forcing me to turn on my flashlight. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, a single blue light flicked on up on top of the tall ceiling. The giant hallway faded from pitch black, into a dark shade of blue as the light began to become more steady.

From what little I could see, there were statues lining the hallway, and banners draped down the sides. The statues looked like they were each holding a staff, but I wasn't sure. They also looked a little hunched over, wearing some kind of armor. Overall, the hallway was very ornate from what I could tell.

Cautiously, I walked down the enormous, ornate hallway down to what I thought to be a door. When I reached the door, I saw that there was no doorknob, or handle. Before I could even think of how to open it however, the door parted, and the two pieces slid into the wall opposite each other.

"Just like that metal 'hatch' on the island." I thought. As I slowly walked into the small, round room on the opposite side of the door, another blue light flicked on in the tall ceiling. Once again, the room faded from a black to a dark blue. As my eyes adjusted to the color, I saw a spherical piece of metal, incased in a tall column that reached from the floor to the ceiling.

"Well that's interesting…" I thought. I strolled over to the spherical piece of metal, and touched it. The surface was smooth, and cold. I lifted my hand from the ball, and it opened like a giant eyelid. Inside, were yellow, orange, and red holographic wires with a blue center.

"What in the hell? These things are Terminals from the Halo games! Why is it here in real life!?" I asked myself. My mind raced and my palms grew sweaty. Before I could do anything however, the blue center of the hologram grew black, and formed a wormhole which sucked me in. My vision grew black, and I passed out.

**Chapter Three- The Seneca**

As my eyes opened, I saw a metal ceiling, and I felt a metal floor. I rolled over, and got to my knees as I tried to steady myself so I wouldn't fall over again. My mind raced, my eyes saw doubles of everything, and I felt extremely lightheaded. After a few minutes of steady, slow breathing, I finally got to my feet, and looked around the room. All shiny metal and wires.

"Where…am…I?" I whispered. My mind went back to that island, and that terminal, and the wormhole.

"All personnel, report to battle stations! I repeat, all personnel report to battle stations!" The intercom blasted. Heavy footsteps protruded down the hallway outside of the heavy blast door.

"I know where I am!" I noted. "I'm on a UNSC warship! But how is this possible?! Halo is just a game…" I was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. Single shots, probably from a battle rifle on semi-automatic. My mind now started to think more about the Halo games, and what was what, and how things worked. I paced to the blast door and waited for it to open. Instead of opening, next to the blast door, on the small, round, piece that projected holograms, an AI flickered up.

"Hello, my name is Sarnea, how may I be of assistance?" I cleared my throat, and politely asked "Could you please open this blast door and direct me to the Bridge, Sarnea?"

Instead of answering my question, she asked "What is your rank and security number?"

Scratching my head, I politely said "Well, I don't really have a rank, or security code. I…just appeared here through a wormhole."

"Oh!" Sarnea said. "Just wait a few minutes, and I'll direct you to the Bridge as you asked. We need to get you a rank and security code!"

"Thank you, but why do I have to wait?" I asked.

"The entire crew of the Seneca is in a drill. They'll be done in a couple minutes. Once finished, I'll open the doors and I'll guide you to the Bridge as you asked." With that, she disappeared back into the projector.

"Well, at least I know a little bit of what is going on here." I thought. "What the…?" My hand ran over a small lump in my jeans pocket. Pulling it out, I realized it was a nice, fat cigar.

"Well, I don't smoke, but oh well. It might make me feel better." I pulled out a lighter from my pocket that mysteriously appeared there along with the cigar, and lit it. Just as I was about to put it up to my lips, the blast door opened with a hiss.

"Well, that works too!" I dropped the cigar, and stomped on it with my right foot.

"I can't believe I almost smoked that thing!" I thought. Then, I strolled out of the blast door and stopped when I heard Sarnea's voice.

"Take a left, then a right, then take another left, and walk down the corridor until you see two blast doors. Once there, I'll let you know where to go next."

"Thank you, Sarnea." I calmly said, and I took the first left down the corridor. The corridor was mildly warm, and had the faint smell of gunpowder. As I rounded the last corner, I saw the two blast doors Sarnea had talked about.

"Very good! You made it here quite quickly! I'll open the blast door on the right, and that should take you straight onto the Bridge.

"Once again, thank you." I told Sarnea. With that, I started to walk through the blast door.

**Chapter Four-That Old Familiar Feeling**

My feet made a loud clang with every step I took. Every time I glanced down, I saw my own face in the polished metal floor. "Ah, Brandon I presume!" The voice startled me, and my head shot up.

"Yes…and you are?" I said as I extended my arm; a sign for a handshake.

"My name is John, the captain of this fine ship! But you can call me…Sonic John." He told me as he shook my hand.

My hands grew cold and clammy, and my heart started to race. The man that stood in front of me, wearing the white uniform of a UNSC Captain, was the famed Sonic John that I had known for years.

"This may come as a shock to you, I know," Sonic said, "You've known me…or more appropriately, known of me, for quite a long time."

"Yes…yes I have." I stuttered as I cleared my throat. "How…how is this all possible? Halo is just a mere game…isn't it?" I asked.

"An alternate reality, Brandon. This all _is_ real. But not in the sense of what we know it to be! Yes, you are alive, and we are in fact on a real UNSC ship, drifting through real space." He cleared his throat to start again.

"However, everything else that you knew, is real also. Just in a different time, in a different reality. Earth, as you know it, no longer exists in this reality. This _is_ Halo, but in reality. Everything that is true in the games, is true right now." "Earth is still here, but you know how badly damaged she is in the games…" He paused, to let this sink into my brain.

"So…everything that I know…is gone? But only in this reality… so if I should somehow find a wormhole to take me back, everything would still be the same?" I asked.

"Yes, that is correct. But good luck finding another one of those wormholes. They seem to be very elusive things." Sonic chuckled.

"If I somehow found a wormhole to take me back in time however, nothing would change? I would find myself on the same island, as if only seconds had passed?" I asked.

"Yes, that is also correct. You can live in this reality, and die in this reality, and nothing will happen to your past reality. If you should die, you do _not_ come back to life in this reality, however. You go back to your other reality, and time. If I were to kill you right here, right now, you would once again find yourself on that island." Sonic reassured me.

"Good lord…I need to sit down" I chuckled. Sonic swung a chair around from one of the empty computer stations next to me. "Do you have a piano on board this fine ship of yours? I asked Sonic.

"No, but we can order one if you wish. I know the piano playing would help calm the crew down in times of stress." I nodded my head in agreement, but kept silent.

"Well Sonic, where are the bunks? This whole experience has worn me out extremely. Sleep sounds like a great idea right now."

"Here, let me guide you to the nearest bunks." Sonic helped me out of the chair, and walked me down the corridor that I had come in through. We took numerous lefts and rights, and finally came to an unlocked blast door.

"Here we are!" Sonic confirmed. He helped me through the door, and closed the door. His voice crackled through the small rooms intercom. "Have a nice nap!" He chuckled as he left.

"Trust me," I thought, "I will! And once I wake up, I will get a uniform, and a rank." With that, I closed my eyes, and let sleep engulf me.

**Chapter Five-The Confrontation **

"All hands, report to battle stations, this is not a drill! I repeat, all hands to battle stations, this is **not** a drill!" The intercom blasted.

"Oh, come on!" I mumbled. Not another stupid drill, they just had one yester…SHIT!" I shouted. "It just said this _wasn't _a drill!" I yelled. Just then, the alarm sounded, and the red alarm button flicked on in the room. I found my olive drab uniform hung on a hanger next to my dresser, a single frag grenade, and an M6D pistol laid on the dresser. One magazine in it already, and two more laid around the gun.

"Holy shit…holy shit…" I mumbled as I fought to get the uniform on, and the M6D into my holster. Finally, I clipped the grenade to my belt. I sprinted to the blast door, and opened it.

"Sonic! Sonic John! Where are you!" I yelled. My mind started to race again, and I started to panic.

"Brandon! Over here!" I heard Sonic yell. I jogged over to were Sonic stood. "I see you got your uniform, and your M6D. Good, now come with me!"

"Sonic, what is going on? Why are we in full combat mode?" I questioned him.

"The Brutes! They've found us!" he shouted over his shoulder as he sprinted down the corridor. My mind thought back to the games, and remembered about the Great Schism, and the Covenant civil war. "If the Brutes are our enemies, then that must mean that we've got the Elites as allies now!" I thought.

The entire ship shuttered, and the lights dimmed just a tad. "What the hell was that, Sonic?" I yelled to him.

"We just fired a salvo of Archer Missiles at the Brute craft!" I followed Sonic around two more right turns and finally we made it to the launch bay.

"Why are we here?" I yelled to Sonic. He didn't answer me, but just waved his hand; a signal to follow him a little more. Once we made it to the other end of the launch bay, he stopped next to a locked blast door.

"You'll continue on through this door." He told me. "I've got some business to tend to here, go on, and I'll meet up with you. Don't worry."

"Alright, but what do I do? Where do I go?" I questioned Sonic again.

"Just take this along with you." He said as he gave me a BR55 with five extra magazines. With that, he motioned for me to go through the door.

"Be careful, Sonic. I don't know what to do, and without you, I'll be lost completely." I explained. Then, I sprinted through the blast door, and I heard it shut behind me with a hiss.

**Chapter Six-Restoration**

"Alright…turn on my flashlight…." I whispered to myself as my eyes tried to adjust to the seemingly small, dark room. Once the flashlight on the side of my helmet came on, I saw that the room wasn't so small after all.

"Damn, what is this? The engine room?" I asked myself out loud. The room was filled with machinery, pipes, and wires. Cautiously, I started to walk to the door on the other side of the rather large room.

Then, the Seneca listed to port, throwing me off to the side and into the metal wall. I could hear the distinct rumbles of missiles launching from the cargo bays under the ship.

"_What in the hell!?" _I thought. "We couldn't list to port just because we fired some missiles, we had to have been hit by something."

I got to my feet again, and started to sprint to the blast door on the other side of the engine room, with the BR55 slung across my back, and the M6D in its holster on my right hip.

Once at the blast door, I put my hand on the scan pad and waited as it scanned my hand.

"Access Denied" the pad emitted from its speaker. Then, Sarnea appeared on the round holographic projector next to the blast door.

"Having trouble, Brandon?" she asked. She already knew that the door wouldn't open.

"Yes, the door won't open for me. Can you open it?" I asked her as politely as I could. She stood there for a second, thinking.

"Yes, I can, but do you have a security code yet? That might be why it wont open. You have your weapons, and your uniform, and rank, but no code yet." I looked at her with a disgusted look.

"Well, how do I obtain this so called 'code'?" I questioned her.

"I'll have to make one up. Hold on…" I waited as she stood there for a couple of seconds. "There, your code is now 1595866896009"

"What! You expect me to remember that!?" I cried. She stood there with a blank expression. Finally, she spoke.

"No, it will be imprinted in your brain. Stay still, do **not** move." Then, she disappeared back into the holographic projector.

"Okay, but I don't know how this is going to wor…" Before I could finish my sentence, a tiny beam of light came down on top of my head.

"There, now you have your code." Sarnea said as she appeared again. Put your hand on the scanner pad." I did as I was told, and to my amazement, the door opened.

"There, now you may continue!" Sarnea cheerfully said. Then, she disappeared again into the projector.

"Okay, now where the hell do I go?" I asked myself as I exited the dark engine room. Once again, the ship listed to port, but no longer did I hear the sound of missiles leaving the cargo bay.

"Oh God, I smell smoke…" I whispered to myself. I looked up, and saw little waves of smoke rolling across the ceiling.

"Son of a…!" I yelled, and I started to run down the corridor to find a way out of the smoke. Once down the corridor, I found a blast door that was unlocked, but only half way open. I crawled through, and stood to my feet on the other side of the door.

"Holy…shit…." I whispered. I was in another one of the Seneca's launch bays, but what I saw were not Pelicans. In front of me stood five blue armored Brutes, with their backs to me.

"Okay, just quietly sneak back through the blast door, and pick them off with my BR55..." I thought. As my left leg made it through the blast door, I knelt down, and placed the BR55 on the bottom piece of the door that stuck out. I looked through my scope, and zeroed in on the back of one of the brutes heads, and pulled the trigger.

The three bullets entered the back of the Brute's head, and blood spattered all over the launch bay window. The Brute dropped to the floor with a loud thud, still spurting blood out of its head.

The other four brutes first looked down at their fallen comrade in shock, then looked behind them, straight at me.

"Fuck me…" I thought. Then I remembered, I had one grenade in my left pocket. I pulled it out, and primed it as the Brutes pulled out their spike rifles.

"Better yet, fuck _you_!" "I screamed. I threw the grenade as hard as I could through the opening in the blast door. The Brutes fired at the grenade, and me. Hot spikes penetrated the heavy blast door, and sat there hissing. However, the grenade was able to land right behind the Brutes as it exploded. Shrapnel, blood, armor, and weapons scattered everywhere.

"Yea!" I yelled. "That's what you get when you mess with the UNSC!" I muttered. I scrambled to my feet, and hopped through the blast door, and gathered up as many grenades as I could handle, and one spike rifle.

"Alright, time to head for that door over there…" I thought as I spotted one blast door on the right side of the launch bay that was unlocked. With five plasma grenades hooked on my belt, a spike rifle hooked onto my left leg, an M6D in its holster, and a BR55 on my back, I looked as if I were going to take on an army on my own.

"Brace for impact!" I heard over the intercom. Just then, the entire ship shuttered.

"What in the hell was that?" I wondered. Then, as if reading my mind, the intercom rang again.

"Brute boarding craft, and lots of 'em! Go get 'em marines!" I recognized the voice, this time it was Sarnea. I started to sprint towards the blast door this time, towards the sound of gunfire.

**Chapter Seven-Downfall**

"Fire! Kill 'em all! Kill all the bastards!" A marine cried. Gunfire erupted in the hallway to my left, and cries of pain and howls of victory were heard.

"Cease fire!" the same marine yelled. At this time, I poked my head around the corner, and saw two dead brutes, both wearing blue armor, and seven marines with Assault Rifles.

"Ahem…" I cleared my throat as a sign that I was there. All seven of the marines turned 360 degrees to face me, Assault Rifles leveled and ready to fire.

"Easy…he's a friendly." One marine said. They all lowered their Assault Rifles, and flipped the safety switch on.

"What is going on?" I asked the seven marines. "Where is Sonic John, and where is the crew?"

All of the marines looked at me with a blank expression. Finally, one stepped forward and spoke.

"The Brutes are attacking us, and boarding the Seneca. They apparently find something interesting on this ship, seeing as how they haven't just blown us to hell already. As for Sonic, I have no clue where he is. He's probably trying to save the ship somehow." Then, another marine spoke up.

"I last saw Sonic running through the launch bays checking all of the Pelicans. He's most likely checking them to be sure that they're ready to launch."

Then, the Seneca listed to starboard. All seven of the marines, including me, were thrown into the wall.

"Holy shit! I can't take any more of this!" I yelled. "What is hitting us? If the Brutes are boarding us, then why would they attack us!"

"They aren't attacking us. That's the Seneca! The Brutes are ransacking her to make sure her defensive and offensive measures are offline! Then, they'll take her as one of their own! But not until every last one of her crew is dead." One marine yelled back.

"What happens if they are able to take the Seneca?" I asked the marine, as I got to my feet.

"They'll be able to study how our ships work. Then we'll really be in some deep shit!"

"Lets go, marines! We've got to stop them!" One marine cried. He seemed to be the leader of the squad. Then, all seven of the marines darted down the left corridor.

"I've got to find Sonic!" I thought. "I need to do something!" With that, I hung a sharp right, and headed down the right corridor, opposite of the marines.

After ten minutes of running through corridors, and going around corners, I finally made it to the Bridge blast doors. I opened them, and ran in.

"Sonic! You're here!" I exclaimed. But Sonic did not turn around, but continued to work at the computer station nearest the view screen. I walked over towards him, and noticed he was deep in thought, as he quickly typed in numbers and codes.

"Are you okay…?" I asked as I walked over to where he sat. Sonic didn't even look like he was alive, except for his fingers dancing around the keyboard.

"He is trying to keep our nuclear generators working." Sarnea said as she popped up next to the computer. "That is why he is not answering you. He is deep in concentration."

"There…" Replied Sonic. Then, a deep rumble erupted from the core of the Seneca. "SHIT!" Sonic yelled.

"What was that?!" I questioned Sarnea. Her image wavered, and Sonic went back to typing in codes.

"That…was generator number three…" She quietly said. "Its gone. The Brutes must've blown it up."

"….Even with me trying to slow them down, they will eventually get all four generators." Sonic mumbled, still typing codes into the computer.

Sarnea turned to Sonic and explained, "Our best bet is to abandon the ship. No matter how important it is to you. If the Brutes get their hands on the Seneca, they'll learn all about our defensive and offensive strategies…or what they don't know already from disabling them."

"May I make a suggestion?" I asked. Sarnea turned towards me, her blue/red hologram flickered, and she crossed her arms.

"Go ahead…" She calmly said. "We need all the suggestions we can get."

"Well, since they're trying to disable are generators, we might as well help them…but not the way that they're trying to do it. I imagine they're disabling them, but hacking into the system, and overriding the controls. What if we disable them, by explosion?" I questioned Sarnea.

"Hmm…disable by explosion…" She whispered. "What are you getting at, private Wollen?"

"What I'm getting at, Sarnea, is that its too late to save the Seneca. But its not too late to save its crew, and destroy the Brutes. What we need to do, is destroy the generators, and blow the engine cores to destroy the ship. Just like what happened to the _Pillar of Autumn_ on Installation 04." This time, Sonic looked up from the computer, and looked at me.

"Do you have any clue how big that explosion would be? We would have to have our escape pods at least 30,000 km away for them to be safely out of the reach of the explosion!" This time, I returned Sonics stare.

"Then we'd better start launching them." Sonic got out of the chair, and checked his ammo.

"Well, it's a long walk to the engine room. We'd better start walking." He smirked, and started walking towards the blast door. Once he got to me, he put his hand on my shoulder, and whispered "I hope this works…she's a good ship, and I don't want to loose her for nothing." Then he walked through the blast door.

"He isn't mad, Brandon. Your idea is a good one, but a dangerous one." Sarnea spoke softly.

"I know." Then, I walked through the blast door.

**Chapter Eight-A Timeless Curse**

"Sonic! Wait up!" I yelled. He was nearing the warthog that was in the small vehicle garage at the end of the corridor.

"Hurry up! We've got a lot to do, and not a whole hell of a lot of time." He then put the key into the ignition, and started the warthog.

"We've got a long ways to go to get to the engine room. Sarnea will try to keep the Brutes off our backs, but there's no guarantee."

"Alright. Say, you want me to operate the turret?" I asked as I ran up to him.

"Yea, that would be nice. You could help keep off any Brutes that try to kill us." Sonic said with a smirk. I just laughed, and hopped in the gunner part of the jeep.

"Alright, locked and ready to roll!" I tapped my foot against the side of the warthog.

"Hang on, Brandon. Its going to be a bumpy ride." Then, the warthog flew forward, and started down the long road towards the engine room.

After what felt like ten minutes, we were out in the open following the makeshift road snaking through the guts of the Seneca.

"Brandon, the radar in the dash shows enemy contacts up ahead about 80 feet. Get ready!"

"Alright!" I shouted. I pulled back the safety lever on the side of the chain gun, and held on tight.

Just as promised, ahead was a pack of Brutes setting up a barricade. One of them looked up, and growled to the other Brutes; a warning.

"Die!" I shouted. Then I pulled the triggers on either side of the handles. A steady stream of lead headed straight for the pack of Brutes. My hands vibrated, and my teeth rattled but I kept a lock on the pack. One by one, the Brutes fell, spurting blood from the massive holes that the bullets had left.

"Alright! Now, lets get to that engine room!" I yelled. Before Sonic could push the gas peddle however, the entire ship shuttered again, and fire blew out of the air vents.

"Jesus…not another one!" Sonic yelled. Then, he floored the 'hog, and began to race towards to the Engine room.

"Must be another generator." I thought. I tightened my grip on the turret, and watched as pillars of metal, and signs flew by us. I also watched the fire start to erupt from the vents.

After what felt like fifteen minutes, we were finally at the Engine room blast doors. I let go of the turret handles, and jumped off the back of the warthog.

"Sarnea, open these blast doors…now." Sonic spoke into the microphone clipped onto his shirt. Not less than five seconds later, the blast doors emitted a hiss, and slid open.

"Brandon, you take right, I'll take left." I moved quickly over to the left side of the blast door, put my back to the wall, and flipped the BR55's safety switch off.

"Ready!" I whispered back. We both turned, and ran through the blast doors, side by side. I could feel the heat from the fires burning my face as we rushed in. The three generators were on fire, and the vents that were suppose to bring cool air to the entire room, emitted showers of sparks and flames.

"Holy shit…!" I yelled. "John, we can't do anything! If that other generator blows, the ship will start to collapse upon itself!" Sonic just stood there, starting at the fires.

"Or worse…the ships fusion cores could collapse, and that would bring down the Slip-Space drive. That would tear the Seneca in half." Then, he started to walk towards the center of the room.

"Brutes!" I screamed. Three of them, on the walk ways above us. I leveled my BR55 and fired at one of them. The shots pinged off of the armor. Once again, I fired, but this time at the head. The three shots punctured the helmet, and tore half of the Brutes head away. The others simply looked at their fallen comrade, and grunted.

"What is wrong with them…?" I thought. "They're not doing _anything_." I fired again, and took down the second Brute. When the final Brute didn't do anything, I took it down too.

"Brandon…" I heard Sonic call. I looked over, while reloading the Battle Rifle. He motioned me over, but did not turn around.

"What is it?" I asked, as I walked over to him. I was hoping that it would explain why the Brutes were acting so weird. I looked down to where Sonic was staring, and my mind went blank. My mouth became dry, and my hands became cold and clammy.

"That's…That's…a Flood Infection form." I whispered. I looked over at Sonic, but he remained calm, and quiet.

"It looks dead to me…" Sonic whispered. But I don't want to take any chances…shoot it." As I pulled my BR55 from its sling around my shoulder, the Infection form came to life, and started to jump around.

"Kill it! Kill it!" I heard Sonic scream, as he was trying to bring his Battle Rifle around to where he could retrieve it from the sling. But it was too late. The Infection form targeted me, and leaped up. I felt its slimy tentacles penetrate the skin around my neck. Then…I felt nothing but cold. My vision blackened, and I fell to the floor. Then a single voice, hollow and deep, rumbled through my head. "**Meus filius, vos es solvo**."

**Chapter Nine-The Awakening**

I opened my eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the bright light of the medical bay. There was no one in the room, but as I turned my head to the left, I saw a pair of examination gloves, and various surgical utensils strewed all over the place on the cart.

"What in the hell happened to me…" My mind raced for answers. Sonic and I opened the doors…I shot the three Brutes…and then the Flood… finally I remembered.

"How did I live?" I asked out loud. Surprisingly, a voice came over the intercom from the balcony room that overlooked the surgery room.

"You were extremely lucky. That's how you lived." I recognized the voice. It was Sonic John. "I was able to shoot off the parasite before it did any real damage. All you have to worry about is a few bruises."

I sat up on the table, swung my feet around to the side, and hopped off. My head became light headed, and my vision darkened again. Once again, the mysterious voice rumbled through my mind.

"**Operor non timeo. EGO sum pacis; EGO sum salus**." Then, my vision went back to normal, and my head cleared.

"What the fuck _is _that!" I wondered. "Better not tell anyone, they might think me crazy. That, or they'll put me back in here and examine me."

Surprisingly, I still had my original uniform on. The collar and shoulders were stained with blood. Noticing my surprise at the uniform, Sonic informed me that a new uniform was hung over towards the other end of the room.

"I'll go away for a minute while you get dressed, and I'll come down after your done. All you have to do is state that your finished."

"Alright." I exclaimed as I fought to get the shirt over my head.

After five minutes, I had changed my uniform, and gotten used to the stiff feel of it.

"I'm finished." I said as I looked up to the balcony. Sonic came into view, pushed a button, then walked out of the door again. In less than a minute, he was walking through the Medical Bay blast doors.

"What happened to the Seneca? She's not shaking anymore, and I don't hear any explosions. How did you manage it?" I questioned Sonic.

"She's still in that state, Brandon. But the Medical Bay has extremely sound proof walls and floor. We're able to run this much electricity in here with our little portable generator. It can barley run this room, but hey, it works." I nodded my head in agreement.

"So, what now? Am I clear? Do we still save the ship?" Sonic looked at me like I was crazy.

"We can't save her. But we still can fend off the Brutes…and the Flood long enough for everyone to escape into the escape pods. About half of the crew are already in the escape pods. We just have to launch them now. I've decided to launch them all together, that way the chance of someone getting lost in space is much lower."

"Alright. So, how far are we from the escape pods?" I asked him.

"We're on the other side of the entire ship. It would take us 30 minutes to get there in a 'hog." I stared back at him with a blank expression. Then I finally came to life.

"Well lets go then!" I exclaimed as I started to walk towards the blast door.

"I drive…" I heard Sonic say from behind me. I turned around to face him and smirked.

"I operate turret!" Sonic laughed, then started to walk towards the warthog. I jumped up in the back, and grabbed the turret.

"Ready!" I yelled. Sonic started up the 'hog, and turned around.

"So am I!" he yelled back, as he floored the warthog down the long wide corridor towards the escape pods.

Soon, we came upon a large open area where the backbone of the ship rested. Open space meant it was easier to drive and operate the 'hog, but it also meant more room for the Brutes. Luckily, it didn't seem like there was anyone in the entire area. Smooth sailing… or in this case…riding was expected.

But then, a column of fire shot up from the floor right in the middle of the road.

"Shit! Hang on, Brandon!" I held on for dear life to the turret as the warthog barrel-rolled down the steep embankment on the side of the road. It landed with a sickening thud at the bottom on its side.

Slowly, I was able to crawl from the wreckage and stand to my feet.

"Holy…shit…" I groaned. My face hurt, and I could feel blood trickling down various parts of my body. I stumbled over towards the driver seat of the 'hog, and squatted down to see if Sonic was alright.

"Help…me…out!" Sonic grunted. I stretched out my hand, and pulled him out of the wreckage. Other than a few scrapes and scratches, he looked fine.

"Thanks…I had to roll her in order not to hit the fire." He patted me on the shoulder.

"I know. Its alright. But now…" I was cut short by the blackening vision again. I knew what was going to happen before it began. Just like clockwork, the voice started again. This time however, I did not faint, but I had to hang onto the wrecked 'hog.

"**Is est vicis. Solvo vestri ex is carcer of viscus , quod vindicatum vestri vox locus procul conicio.**" Then, as fast as it came, it went away. I regained my senses, and let go of the 'hog.

"Brandon? Are you okay?" Sonic asked as he slowly reached for his BR55.

"I'm…sorry…" I muttered. Then, I became lightheaded again. Fire now spurted up from the floor in fountains. It looked as if we were at the gates of hell, not inside the belly of the Seneca.

"Brandon! What the hell is going on!?" I heard Sonic yell. His voice was muffled, as if we were underwater. Then, the voice started again.

"**Effrego solvo! Vindicatum quis est vestri pro captus!**"

Then, I grew cold again, and my memory faded. Then, my hearing grew quiet. All that remained was my vision, and that soon followed. All that remained was the ever distancing figure of Sonic John. Then, black.

"Brandon!" Sonic yelled again. He rushed over towards Brandon who was now collapsed on the floor. "Wake up! Wake up, damn it!"

Then, Brandon's lips moved in an ever so faint motion. Then, a weak laugh escaped.

"Brandon?…." Sonic whispered. Silence filled the air. Even the fire seemed to become quiet. Then, an explosion erupted from where Brandon was at. Blue light, green sparks, and what sounded like screeches and screams.

"Jesus Christ! What the fuck!?" Sonic shielded his eyes from the light. From the smoke and fire, Brandon seemed to walk towards him.

"Sonic John…your time has come." A deep, hollow voice protruded from the fire and smoke. Brandon seemed to walk out of the smoke, but the voice was different.

"What happened to Brandon?" Sonic asked as the figure still walked towards him. A gust of wind blew through, blowing the flames across the room. The wind pattern was such that it started making a tornado of fire and smoke. The figure waved his hands around, seemingly controlling the wind.

"I? I…am a monument to all your sins." The deep hollow voice rumbled through the room.

"Holy…shit. Gravemind!" The figure stopped now. It started to laugh and the fire started to wrap around it like a weed wraps around the trunk of a tree.

"No! I am not. I am the mind of him. But I…I am different. I am the heart and soul of this ship."

"Sarnea…how! How is this fucking possible!" Sonic reached for his BR55, but the figure stretched its hand out, and the gun was flung across the room.

"I've opened the door now, my mind has been released. I see now. I will take this ship, and I will take hold of the destiny which is mine!"

The figure that was once Brandon, now was enveloped by a fiery tornado. Then, the tornado swirled down into the ground. The metal floor began to smoke, and turn bright red.

"It is time for you to die, Sonic John." The figure spoke as it pulled a sword out of the over coat which it now wore. The over coat seemed to form while inside of the fire tornado.

"I'm not going down with a fight!" Sonic yelled as he pulled out a UNSC sword of his own. The figure began to chant, and the sword it was holding started on fire, and strange coding formed on the blade.

"I…will…_not_ let you win!" Sonic shouted. Then, he ran towards the figure. The figure stretched out its hand once again, and stopped John as if he just ran into a wall. It stopped chanting, and now the blade pulsed with a red glow, and the coding stretched up and down the entire blade. Fire now spurted out of the floor like geysers.

The figure's eyes glowed red now, along with the blade. The hair hung down over the eyes, but the red emitted from the eyes shown through. Along with the overcoat, and the sword, it looked as if the figure came straight out of a science fiction movie.

**Chapter Ten-One Final Stand**

John ran towards Gravemind once again, but was once again thrown back by an invisible force.

"Stop being such a damn coward, and actually fight me!" John yelled, as he charged Gravemind again. Gravemind quietly laughed and locked arms with John. They both stood still, locked in a battle to push each other away.

"John, John, John." Gravemind muttered. "Even after all of your battles, your still weak!" Gravemind then picked John up off the ground with the invisible force again, and tossed him across the room. He landed with a loud thud on the metal floor, and his UNSC sword landed off to his right.

"You've got to snap out of it, Brandon!" John whispered to himself. "I know your still in there, somewhere. It is still your body! Don't let Gravemind overtake you!" With that, John got to his feet, and pulled out his pistol.

"Let's see if you can handle this!" he yelled, as he pulled the trigger. John unloaded all twelve rounds into Gravemind's chest.

Gravemind staggered back, but still remained standing. Bright red blood streamed down his chest and onto the floor.

"Fuck! Brandon can still die, even though I'm hurting Gravemind!" John thought to himself. He tossed the pistol aside, and readied himself for hand to hand combat.

"You will loose, boy!" Gravemind yelled. "Give up now! Let me kill you easily, and you wont feel a thing!" Brandon's eyes now glowed even more red. He started chanting again, and the fires that raged through out the room, now blazed with more intensity.

"Let Brandon go…he does not deserve to die!" John yelled as he sheltered his face from the heat.

"Brandon is weak. He is the perfect host! His mind is weak, and can not throw me out!" Then, Gravemind staggered back, and lost his control on the fires. They burned down to regular size, and Gravemind screeched the same blood curdling scream as the flood do. Blue and green fire raged up around him and Brandon's voice punctured through the fire.

"I…_will_…break…free!" The blue/green fires now burned with more intensity, and licked the ceiling. John took this time to snatch his sword, and take the cover off of a nearby ventilation system.

"I can slide down this vent to get to the armory. There, I can pick up some weapons that might kill Gravemind!" John contemplated as he started to crawl into the vent.

"Stupid boy, you will not break my hold!" Gravemind roared. When he heard this, John pushed himself down into the vent as fast as he could, and slid down into the armory.

"Where did you go John? Too afraid to face me?" Gravemind taunted. The red glow now returned to Brandon's eyes. He stretched out his hand, and a blue mist formed around it.

"**Permissum meus eyes animadverto, quis vestri eyes animadverto**." Gravemind chanted this three times. He then stopped, and a smile crossed his face. Then he put down his hand, and the blue mist faded away.

"I see you." Gravemind spoke softly. Then, he started walking towards the vent.

"You will not escape so easily!" Gravemind yelled down the vent. "**Iuguolo him!**" Flood Infection forms swarmed around Gravemind and down into the vent.

Then, Gravemind turned around and walked towards the blast door.

John landed on his feet with a loud bang on the metal grate of the armory. The armory was surprisingly full. The marines hadn't swarmed this one and used it yet.

"Alright…I want a shotgun, and a some ammo for my Battle Rifle." He walked over to the far left side of the room, where the shotguns were lined up. "Good good. A lot of ammo here." He collected the ammo for the shotgun, put it in his side pocket, and slung the shotgun around on his back. Then, he loaded up the Battle Rifle.

"What in the hell is that sound?" John asked out loud as the scratches in the ventilation system grew louder. "Oh no, that isn't…shit!" He yelled as he ran for the blast door. Just as John reached the blast doors, the vent exploded, and hundreds of tiny Flood Infection forms pored out.

"Open…Open!" John yelled at the door as it read his security code. Finally, it opened with a hiss, and he ran out into the mess hall. John turned around and started firing upon the Infection forms with his shotgun.

"Going somewhere?" A voice sounded behind him. John turned around and tried to pull the trigger, but Gravemind was too fast. He clutched the shotgun in one hand, and John's throat with the other and lifted him off the ground, while throwing the shotgun across the floor.

"I would let my Flood feast upon you, but I want your body in a somewhat normal condition." Gravemind spoke. The guttural sound the voice created made John cringe. Then, Gravemind threw John aside and into the wall.

"I will…kill you." John grunted as he tried to regain his breath. "I will get Brandon back." Gravemind tossed his head back in laughter, and his eyes grew even more red.

"Silly John. You will _never_ prevail! I am superior to you. I will defeat you, and I will get your activation code to this ship." With that, Gravemind started walking towards John again.

"Fuck off!" John moaned. He threw the combat knife he had and stuck Gravemind in the leg which made him fall to one knee. "I'm sorry, Brandon." John thought.

With Gravemind temporarily down, John took the opportunity to grab the shotgun. There was a grenade on the ground next to his foot, and John picked it up with curiosity. Then, he looked at the wall next to Gravemind. It was an external wall, which meant that it could be punctured. But a grenade wouldn't do it!

"The armory!" John thought. He then ran in, and grabbed a rocket launcher and loaded it with the one rocket next to it.

"I've only got one shot at this." John spoke out loud as he raced to the other end of the mess hall. He leveled the rocket launcher, and fired. The rocket streaked across the room with an ear splitting screech. It blasted into the wall, tearing a 10x10 hole.

The room instantly started to be sucked into the empty void of space as the room de-pressurized. John was blasted into the platform ten feet away, and knocked out. Gravemind however, remained in the same spot. The floor around him grew red and the blue mist formed around him again. As soon as the hole was plugged by the debris from the room, he stood up with the knife still in his leg.

"It is time, John. You have eluded me for the last time." Gravemind spoke. With his back to the blast door, he readied himself to slit John's throat.

"Marines! Fire!" The seven marines from before opened fire with their Assault Rifles upon Gravemind. The bullets tore through the over coat and through Gravemind. Blood instantly flowed down and onto the floor. The sound of the gun fire woke John from his sleep, and he saw the bullets tearing their way through Gravemind…and Brandon.

"Stop! Stop firing!" John cried. But his plea went unheard. The gun fire was too loud, and drowned out any other noise. Gravemind, still being pounded by the bullets, turned around slowly, the body pushing him back. In one hand, a small, red ball began to form. In the other, a small, green ball. Gravemind began to chant, and the two glowing balls of electricity grew bigger. Then, he forced his hands up, and the two collided, and were released towards the marines.

"Cease fire! Move!" One marine cried out. But it was too late. The electricity blasted into them, and killed them instantly. The room glowed with the green/red intensity.

"You bastard!" John cried out as he charged Gravemind. The two collided and were propelled to the edge of the room near which was a railing protecting the upper floor, from the lower floor twenty feet down. The railing broke, and John and Gravemind tumbled down to the floor below. The two were knocked unconscious immediately.

Hours later, John awoke still laying on top of Gravemind from where they landed. He rolled to the side, and coughed up blood.

"Brandon. Wake up." He muttered as he crawled over to him. John shook him. When he didn't wake up, he shook him harder.

"Please, wake up!" John whispered. Brandon's eyes slowly opened, and blood slowly streaked down his cheek.

"Sonic…" I muttered. A smile crossed my face. "Sonic…help me up…" I groaned.

"I…can't. I can't move much at all." John replied. Then, he faded into the darkness.

**Chapter Eleven-Conclusion**

John opened his eyes to the bright lights of a medical room. He sat up, and looked around. He was definitely in a medical bay room.

"Brandon?" John questioned. Then a voice answered him from behind him.

"Brandon is just fine. He's in the next room." John whirled around to face this mysterious voice.

"You must be wondering who I am. My name is Capt. Richard Woltz. This is my ship, the Raider."

"What happened? How did we end up here?" John questioned him.

"Well, we picked up on your distress signal. We boarded the ship, and saved as many people as we could."

"And what about the escape pods?" John questioned him again. This time, a sad expression crossed the captains face.

"I'm sorry…there was nothing we could do. By the time we got to them, the inferno had already engulfed that entire deck. They were all lost." The captain seemed to bow his head in shame.

"Every single person?…Dead?" John whispered. Who all survived?"

"You and Brandon were the only ones. I'm terribly sorry. The fire was too intense, and the Flood had infected all those that were still alive." This time, John didn't reply. A tear made its way down his cheek, and dropped onto the examination bed. Trying to ease the tension, Woltz spoke up.

"If you feel up to it, you may go see Brandon. But I'll warn you, he's pretty banged up. I'm not sure how he survived it at all. It's a complete miracle if you ask me."

John didn't reply this time either, but simply hopped off the bed, and walked through the curtain that separated the two rooms. John walked over to the edge of Brandon's bed.

"Brandon. Are you awake?" John asked as softly as he could. Brandon didn't reply, and his vitals started to fade. John placed his hand on Brandon's head, and closed his eyes in a moment of prayer.

"It is his time, John. Let him go." Woltz walked up to him. The vitals faded even more, and finally flat lined. Woltz walked around, and unplugged the wires to the machines and Ivy Drip that was in Brandon's arm. He took out a small device that looked like a tape recorder.

"Patient- Private Brandon Wollen. Time of death- 8:47 A.M. July 14, 2552." Then, Woltz walked over to John, and put his hand on his shoulder to comfort him. All they did was stand there, and stare at Brandon's body.

"You shall not be forgotten, Brandon." John whispered, trying not to cry. But the situation was overwhelming and John broke out. He grabbed the side of the bed, and sobbed long and hard.

"Holy...SHIT!" I said out loud. I said it so loud it woke both of my friends up in the tent.

"Shut up and go back to sleep. Its five in the fuckin' morning."

"But that was a KICK ASS dream!!" I told them. I'm going to go get a glass of water. Be right back." I told them. As soon as I stepped out of the tent, my feet touched the wet grass. My eyes hurt, and felt dry. Then, they turned bright red.

"**Haha! EGO mos epulum super is universitas!**"


End file.
